Rogue Soul V2
by Kerim
Summary: Re-write of Rogue Soul with some Major Changes. "You are not who you think you are Ichigo Kurosaki, in truth you are a member of the once proud Shiba Clan. Sadly, I must inform you that the very name puts a price on your head." Possible Ichixharem
1. Chapter 1

**A/N had an idea for a Bleach fanfic. But went back to my old story Rogue Soul, and began to think. I went back and read RS and couldn't help but see a lot wrong with it. After some thought, I decided to fuse the two, into a sort of Rouge Soul 2.0 if you will. Most of the key plot elements will be the same with one major exception. I left the old one up for those of you who still want to read it. Be aware though, that there will be different details, so don't expect it to be entirely the same.**

IIIIIII

"What's the problem?" the shopkeeper asked, motioning Isshin to take a seat. The man obliged, sitting down in a wooden chair, the child still in his arms.

"I don't know what's wrong." Isshin answered, looked down at the boy, worry evident on his features. "He thrashes around when he cries, almost violently; and his eyes…"

"What's wrong with his eyes?" Urahara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Whenever he has one of his fits, they…change color." Isshin said. The man looked towards the shopkeeper. "They change to a dark yellow...almost amber color."

This last bit of information made the normally nonchalant shopkeepers eyes widen noticeably. "Are you sure about that?" A nod from the other man confirmed it. The hat once again covered Urahara's eyes as he glanced down to the floor. "I'm not entirely sure…" he began. " But if it is what I think it is…"

"He's turning."

The shopkeeper looked up in surprise at Isshin's words. "Yes, it seems so." He admitted, no longer seeing the need to soften the blow.

"Why now?" Isshin mumbled to himself. "When we've just now become a family…"

"Switching his Gigai is probably what did it." Said Urahara. "His original one grew at the same rate as he would have without it; maybe taking two hundred years or more to reach maturity. This new one though, grows at the rate of a normal human being." He paused for a second, considering his words. "That must have accelerated it..."

Isshin stared down at the boy, tears welling up. "I just wanted him to live a normal life... with me and Misaki." He looked up at the shopkeeper, a desperate look in his eyes. "Is there anything you can do?"

"It's already begun Isshin." Urahara said sadly. "The boy is going to become a hollow… he was doomed to that fate when his mother was attacked." He watched as his old friends head fell in despair at his words, the boy was doomed. **I'm sorry big guy... there's nothing I can do. **He stood up and patted the stricken man on the shoulder. "I'm sorry." He stood up and walked towards the back room of his shop, wanting to give his friend what little time there was left of the boy's life. He sat down quietly at his desk, placing his head on his hands. **I knew it was risky… **he thought. **But I did it anyway… Now Kaien's son is going to become a hollow. **His thoughts drifted back to old lieutenant of squad 13. **Isshin was trusted with his brother's son, and I kill him. **When anyone thought of Kisuke Urahara, they would tell you of an aloof, mysterious man, one who always seemed to be in control. Here however was a different man entirely, one filled with the stinging pain of regret.** In that old Gigai he could have lasted at least another hundred years… **He slammed his fist down in frustration, leaving cracks in his heavy workbench. **It's too late to change the gigai now… Before too long, he will completely become a hollow… maybe a week at the most if his eyes are changing…** The train of though was cut short as box fell on the shopkeeper head with a heavy thump. "Oww..." Urahara mumbled, taken by surprise by the falling object. He glanced down to see what it was. **The... **His eyes widened as an idea crossed his head. He snatched up the box and hurried into the front of the shop.

The broken man sat in his chair, staring down at his nephew. **I'm sorry Kaien... I'm so sorry… I couldn't give him the life you wanted.**

"Isshin!" Isshin looked up to see Urahara, entering the room and holding a fairly large wooden box; the shopkeeper's eyes now holding a glimmer of hope. "I have something which may work."

The former soul reapers eyes shot open in surprise. "What…what do you mean?"

"It won't take the hollow out of his soul, but we may be able to halt it here; preventing him from fully becoming one." Urahara explained, placing the box on a nearby table.

"What is it?" Isshin asked.

"For quite some time now, I've been working on a project." Urahara continued, beginning to open the box. "You remember arrancars right?"

"Yes." Isshin responded. "They're Hollows with some Shinigami abilities." His eyes narrowed. "You're not going to…"

"No, he won't become an Arrancar." Urahara said, pulling out a smaller box. "If this works, Ichigo's soul will balance out." He opened the smaller box, and lifted out a small blue sphere.

"Is that it?" Isshin asked, hopefully.

"Yes," Urahara replied. "If it works, his life will be saved…but…" he trailed off.

"But what?"

"There will always be some hollow in him." The shopkeeper stated. "He may behave differently, more aggressively… it will not be easy, and you'll have to explain it to him eventually… to be honest, I'm really not sure what will happen when his soul stabilizes."

"I'm willing to take that risk." Isshin said, taking one last look at the sleeping boy in his arms, before handing him to the shopkeeper. "Save my nephew."

IIIIIIII

That had been a night forever etched into the mind of Isshin Kurosaki. That little blue ball had saved Ichigo's life. When Urahara brought the boy and the orb close to each other, it simply flowed into the boy's body, disappearing inside. In what seemed like a massive stroke of luck, there hadn't seemed to be any form of side effects either. When he awoke the next day, both eyes were as brown as the day he was born, and Isshin had never felt happier, knowing that his nephew was going to be ok. His new wife Misaki calmed down as well when she was her new step son wasn't having the weird eye problems any more. She had never known just how grave the boy's actual situation was, and Isshin wanted to keep it that way. His wife was ignorant to the world of souls and hollows, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could.

Ichigo had grown quite normally through his first two years, progressing through the stages of crying, crawling, and walking. However, once he started heading off to preschool, things started to change. When Ichigo turned three, something began to change in his behavior. The Kurosaki household began to receive phone calls on a nearly daily basis. All of them talking about how Ichigo seemed to play too rough with the other children, one day he received a call slightly worse than the others.

"Excuse me, is this the Kurosaki home?" a feminine voice called across the line.

"Yes it is, Isshin speaking."

"I have something to tell you about your boy, Ichigo." The teacher said.

**Oh great, not this again… **"What'd he do this time?" Isshin asked, unsurprised.

"Well, to be honest all of the blame does not lie with your son." The teacher began. "Ichigo was playing with some blocks when another boy came up and took some. Your son scowled and tossed a particularly large block at the other boy…knocking him out cold."

"WHAT?" Isshin exclaimed in shock. **How hard would he have to throw it? **

"Yes, that was our reaction as well." Said the teacher in annoyance. "When I told him that was bad, he just threw one at me…from across the classroom."

Isshin rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry about that, he can be… a little energetic sometimes."

"I'm sure he can be Mr. Kurosaki." The woman replied. "However, we're going to have to ask that your son please attend a different school from now on."

"Please don't, I swear it'll never..." he stopped as the other side of the line hung up. Isshin sighed. **This'll be the third one this month… **

IIIIIIIII

Ichigo continued to be a nuisance as he grew older, getting kicked out of almost every preschool service in the city. Among babysitter he had reached almost legendary status as the "Kurosaki Demon Child' known for eating massive amounts of food, growling at his caregivers, and breaking things with his hands. There was also one incident where some poor girl ended up with a black eye and a restraining order taken out on the child. The boy's behavior was wild and unpredictable, one minute he would be playing calmly with his toys, and the next charging around outside terrorizing the neighborhood. Isshin was beginning to worry, but cast it out as a boy being a boy. He had his own streak of terror when he was a kid, becoming a legend in his own right; but nothing like this. Isshin could only thank the stars that his wife had the patience of a saint.

Misaki had put up with Ichigo's antics far longer than anyone else had ever lasted. She had years of experience with small children, since she taught kindergarten classes at a local school, she also seemed to be the only who was immune to the toddlers occasional violent outbursts; meaning she landed the duty of telling him to take his baths and brush his teeth. Isshin would chuckle to himself every time he saw that ever present scowl morph into a childish pout whenever his wife started to throw her weight around.

When Ichigo had turned five, he had entered elementary school with as notorious a reputation as someone his age could have. Through a particularly fortunate stroke of luck, Ichigo had landed in her class; however many would say it was due to the other teachers fear of taking on the kid. She was quick to discipline Ichigo whenever he would do something wrong, and due to her now near constant influence, the young boy was learning albeit slowly, what was and wasn't acceptable.

About halfway through that year, joyous news arrived at the Kurosaki household. Misaki was going to have twins! Isshin was overjoyed at the news that he was going to have not one, but two new children. When they had told Ichigo he was highly curious, would he have a brother or sister, both even? The parents let him know that even they didn't know, and would have to wait to find out. Months later, Misaki gave birth to twin girls, who were named Karin and Yuzu. When Ichigo saw his sisters for the first time, he felt something trigger in his head, it confused him. "Tell me Ichigo." He heard his father say. "Why do big brothers come first?" Ichigo shrugged at the question, looking up at his father. "To protect those who come after them."

IIIIIIII

It wasn't long after leaving Misaki's class that Ichigo was back up to his old antics, although things were beginning to take a turn for the worse. The boy had proven to have an incredibly short fuse, and could go off at any discernible second. When Ichigo was seven, his parents were called up to the school office and given an ultimatum.

Both of them were now seated in the principal's office of Ichigo's school. Isshin and Misaki sitting in chairs beside each other, the girls sitting on their mothers lap. Ichigo sat in the corner, a scowl on his face.

"You're nephew is quite an interesting case Mr. Kurosaki." The principle said, looked towards Isshin. "In his classes, he is doing quite well, near the top of his grade in fact..." Isshin had turned a surprised look at his wife who visibly grinned; she knew what she was doing. "…However, we simply can't overlook all the fights he has been a part of all this year."

"That's what they get for calling me a nerd!" Ichigo shouted at the principal, earning glares from all the seated adults. "Humph…sorry." He muttered, turning away from the group.

"Frankly Mrs. Kurosaki, if you weren't an employee here I doubt we would have tolerated it this long." The principal said. "Another child sent to the hospital and we'll have to expel him."

"Well what would you like for us to do?" Isshin said calmly.

"Get the boy under control." The principal stated. "Put him into some sort of sports club or something, he has too much pent up aggression."

"I believe we can manage that sir." Isshin said, standing up and extending his hand. "I give you my word that Ichigo will not send anyone else to the infirmary."

The principal merely snorted, but shook the man's hand. He watched as they gathered up their children and headed out of his office. **I don't give that kid a week.**

"Misaki." Isshin said as the group was walking down the hall, getting his wife's attention.

"Yes, Isshin."

"Take the girls to the car; I have to talk with Ichigo about something." She gave him a questioning look, but he waved it off. After she had gotten out of earshot, he turned back to Ichigo. "Ichigo, why did you get into all of those fights?"

The boy looked up at him with a neutral expression. "They insulted me, called me nerd because I did well. Talked about how I was a troublemaker."

"So why did you hit them, what did that accomplish?"

"I shut them up; they have no right to insult me."

Isshin looked him in the eye. **Such pride… must be part of the Hollow in him. **"Ichigo, do you know what your name means?"

The boy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "No, what?"

"It means one who protects." Isshin said. "You are a strong boy Ichigo, far stronger than most your age." Ichigo's chest swelled at the words. "However, you are misusing your strength."

"What do you mean?"

"What makes someone a man, Ichigo?" Isshin said, squatting down to be on his nephew's level.

"Strength." Ichigo said. "A man gets what he wants by beating up the other guy, like Superman or Kamina!"

Isshin sighed at his words. "You're half right. Superman is a man because he uses his strength to defend others." Ichigo's eyes widened. "Kamina fights to make a brighter future for everyone. A man does what's right and does all he can to protect others. Right now you're nothing but a bully."

Ichigo's gaze turned to the floor. He didn't like it, but his father was right. Sometimes he would tell himself that, but it was almost as if he wanted to fight just because he could. "Dad, sometimes I just can't help it. I get mad and this feeling comes over me and, I can't stop."

**The Hollow Instincts Kisuke has been worrying about…. **He touched the boys chin and pulled his face up. "I think I know how to solve your problem." Isshin stood up and motioned for the boy to follow.

"Hey!" Ichigo called chasing after him. "Where are we going?"

"You'll know when we get there." They arrived at the car soon after, and after joining a slightly impatient Misaki, headed off to their destination. The local martial arts dojo.

IIIIIIII

Ichigo may have done quite well in school, but in the dojo he was a force of nature. He had fought his way to the top of the class almost immediately, earning a spot in his age groups tournament in under a month. The classes had done wonders for Ichigo's behavior in school as well, for now all of us pent up aggression and energy went to pounding the other kids at the dojo into the dirt. To everyone's surprise, Ichigo had developed a massive competitive streak. When asked why by his parents he replied. "Every time I'm in there, I try to prove I'm the best." For the most part, the one on one spars were quite easy for Ichigo, because he was quite strong for his age and already had a good amount of experience fighting others.

He had been looking forward to the city wide tournament for some time now, and on the day it was to begin, he was practically bouncing off the walls to get in and fight someone better. Once the tournament began, to his disappointment, he was only mildly challenged. As he fought his way into the finals, he actually felt kind of disheartened. His growing competitive spirit wasn't being satisfied by these chumps; he needed to fight someone stronger. It was this mindset he carried into the finals, facing off against a boy slightly taller than himself with long black hair.

"Ready to lose punk?" The boy asked him, cracking his fists.

Ichigo just stared at his opponent with a bored expression, not expecting much of a challenge. The ref signaled to begin, and both fighters jumped into their stances. Ichigo saw the boy in front of him swing a punch towards his face. He lazily brought his arms up to block the strike, only to double over as something collided with his exposed gut. **What the...** He looked down to see his opponents other fist dug into his stomach.

"Didn't see that coming did you?"

Ichigo looked up in time to see the boy's heel coming around in a swift kick, colliding with the side of his head. Ichigo grunted in pain as he was thrown to the ground by the force of the kick, his head swimming in pain. **Oww...**

"What an amateur." The taller boy said, smirking at his downed opponent. Ichigo shakily stood up. "Want some more?" Ichigo just repositioned himself and dropped into his fighting stance. This time he was the first to lunge at his taller opponent, only to gasp in surprise as his punch was swatted aside. His opponent then proceeded to grab his arm and use the leverage to toss Ichigo over his shoulder.

The loud thump echoed throughout the gym as the boy came in contact with the hard floor. "I can't take this anymore!" Misaki cried out, trying to call for an end to the fight. A hand touched her shoulder, causing her to turn around. "Isshin he's going to get hurt!"

Her husband looked back at with a neutral expression. "Not just yet Misaki." He said calmly. "He needs to do this himself." His wife glared down at him, obviously thinking otherwise; but she sat back down and turned her attention to the fight. Obviously willing to at least give Isshin's theory a shot.

"Was that your mom?" The taller boy said as Ichigo picked himself off the ground once again. "She's ugly; I can see where you get it from…" Ichigo tore his eyes up to look at the other boy, his eyes narrowing. "What's the matter am I making you mad?" the taller boy placed his hands on his hips and laughed. He was so busy laughing, he missed the fact that something was happening to his opponent's eyes; namely black color seeping into them. "Let's get this over with." The kid said with a smirk, raising his arms. "Take this!" he shouted swinging for Ichigo's head. He smirked when his opponent once again blocked his face; bringing his other fist towards the boys gut like the last time. When impact was made however, there as a much different result. "AAGGHH!" the boy screamed out in pain, pulling his fist back. **What the hell is he made of…it's like punching concrete... **He saw that several of his fingers were busted, and his wrist looked floppy. **MY HAND! **His eyes shakily looked up to see that his opponent was scowling back at him, a furious look on his face. "Look man, I'm sorry." He said, backing away from the enraged Ichigo. He almost screamed out in fear when the boy's eyes turned to him. They weren't a soft brown like they had been before, now they were black with golden irises. "What are...?" He felt as if a pressure was pushing down on him, rendering him immobile and thus unable to avoid the ferocious haymaker that Ichigo imbedded in his gut.

"Ichigo..." Isshin muttered; shocked at what he had just seen. He had been surprised to see Ichigo losing and had been partially glad that he was. It could be a valuable lesson that not everyone is easy to beat, to not get overconfident. But now, after seeing what had just occurred, Isshin wasn't sure if he was even looking at Ichigo at all. Misaki on the other hand, stood up and cheered, proud that Ichigo had managed to make a comeback; completely oblivious to what had just happened.

The taller boy fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, unable to breath. Trainers came out to check on him, and after feeling his chest, immediately ended the fight. The ref grabbed Ichigo's hand and raised it up signaling him to be the winner. Isshin held his breath as the boys head began to turn towards the crowd. **What if he's lost control.., what should I… **His eyes locked with Ichigo's soft brown ones, not the hollow amber he had been dreading, thus alleviating any worries Isshin might have been building up. **Guess he's alright… for now. **"Way to go Ichigo!" ha called out to his nephew, who was now grinning in the center of the ring, trainers coming out to check on his condition as well. He would prove to be largely ok except for a few bruises. His opponent however, was not quite so lucky, having to be rushed to the emergency room for a broken hand and four broken ribs.

IIIIIIII

After the tournament was over and Ichigo got his trophy, the Kurosaki family decided to celebrate with a Picnic out by a local river. Well, celebrate may not have been the best term. While Misaki was quite proud of the boy; Isshin couldn't get his mind off what he had seen. Ichigo's eyes blackening like hollows, and the events that followed. Misaki had gone down to set up a blanket with the girls; while the men of the house wondered down the river. **That punch didn't even faze him… **he thought, watching his victorious nephew playing with ducks down near the water's edge. Now he looked nothing like the furious attacker he had seen before. **That punch was devastating… I could hear the kid's ribs crack from the stands.** What really bothered Isshin was how quickly the state had come up and how it left almost immediately after the punch was thrown. If he was being taken over, it wouldn't end so subtlety, but if Ichigo was still in control, than what caused it in the first place? When he had questioned Ichigo about it on the ride over, the boy had been confused; simply stating that he had gotten mad and swung out at his opponent. **Could it be anger then? **Isshin thought, worried at the thought. If Ichigo lashed out like that every time he got angry, things could quickly take a turn for the worse. **Maybe it's time I saw Urahara again… **

"Hey dad!"

Isshin looked up to see Ichigo, his head cocked to the side. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Who is that over there?" the boy asked pointing back across the water. The man's gaze followed Ichigo's hand, his eyes freezing when he saw what the boy was pointing at. A girl, one around Ichigo's age was floating above the water, she was translucent, the man saw; as he was not able to truly see through her dim form. **A spirit… **He looked down at his nephew who seemed to be gazing at the same scene in obvious interest. **He can see them now…**

"Hey are you ok?" Ichigo asked, walking towards the spirit. "How are you floating like that?"

**If Ichigo can see spirits now… **Ishhin thought, watching the scene before him. The thought unnerved Isshin greatly, for if he was gaining such abilities then he may not be far off from his natural abilities. **He was born a spirit, if this continues I may not be able to hide him for much longer… **a chill raced down the man's spine; something wasn't right. He looked at Ichigo, who had also frozen in place. The spirit girl was rising out of the water, revealing a long stem, leading to something quite large. **This feeling…A HOLLOW. **Isshin sprang up and began to run towards the water. "Ichigo move!" The boy turned to look at his uncle, fear evident in his eyes.

"Get out of here!" Isshin shouted back at Ichigo. "Something bad is about to happen!"

"But" he muttered, confused by what was happening.

"JUST GO!" Isshin shouted back, seeing a grinning white mask ascend from the river.

"What's happening..?" Ichigo shouted, backing frozen in place.

Isshin reached down to grab Ichigo's hand and pulled, but the boy didn't budge. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" he shouted down to the stationary boy. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE… oomph!" He grunted as one of the hollows arms bashed him in the side, sending him flying a good ten feet, sliding to a halt beside a tree.

"UNCLE!" Ichigo cried out; growing more confused by the second.

"Hehehehehe." The Hollow chuckled, climbing out of the river towards his victim, paying no attention to the shaking boy on the bank.

"Ichigo…r-run!" Isshin coughed out, trying to pull himself up. The hollows strike had hurt him considerably; breathing was proving to be difficult.

Ichigo watched in horror as the monster ambled slowly towards his mother and father, feeling helpless. **He swatted dad aside like he wasn't even there… **He was too afraid to move, fear of the massive creature rooting him to the spot. _**Ichigo… **_ Ichigo breathed in sharply, remembering what his father had told him months ago. _**Do you know what your name means…? **_

"You look delicious." The hollow said, slowly approaching the pair. His white mouth opening, revealing pure darkness behind his huge teeth. "I'll enjoy devouring your souls."

"STOP!"

The beast halted and turned its head around, resting its predatory gaze on the young Ichigo. "Be quiet boy, I'll eat you shortly."

"Leave them alone." Ichigo's voice called out, his hands clenching. Anger was rising in his chest; anger and his uncles words. **…He who protects.**

"HAHAHAHA!" The hollow jeered, turning back to the adults before it. "DON'T INTERRUPT MY MEAL!" He lunged for the man and woman before him, unable to wait any longer to devour their souls. To his surprise, he stopped short of his food…something was holding him back.

Isshin froze, watching the massive hollows jaws shoot forward, only to stop mere inches away. **What... **he thought confused as to why the beast would do so. His eyes almost popped out of his head in shock at what happened next.

"What is this?" the Hollow said, as it began to lift off the ground. Something had grabbed its tail, and was using it to lift up the hollows bulk. **Impossible! **The Hollow thought, beginning to thrash around and plant itself back on the ground.

Ichigo shouted out as he tried to lift the hollow over his shoulder, an imitation of a shoulder through he had seen in class. **Come on... a little more… **he thought pulling the last bit up off the ground. "AAAHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, pulling down with all his might, his scream sounding more animalistic by the second. The Hollow came crashing down on the other side of Ichigo with a huge crash, shaking the ground.

Isshin looked on in amazement. **Did Ichigo just take down a Hollow?**

"What human could do that?" moaned, pulling itself off the ground. The attack had hurt it considerably, but wasn't quite enough to actually damage his form. Its angered gaze fell upon the boy it had seen before; now standing there defiantly, face drawn up in an angry scowl. "Who are you?" It asked.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." The boy replied with a growl. "Now leave my uncle alone." His now amber eyes glaring at the beast in righteous fury.

"The eyes..." The hollow began, noticing how the child's eyes had changed. The hollow was genuinely confused at this latest development. How could a human child have that much strength, and the eyes of a hollow…? **No matter... **the hollow thought, a smirk growing on his face. **He shall make for a better meal than the other one... **The hollow began to move forward but stopped cold as it sensed a new energy source. This new feeling caused dread to spike in the Hollows mind; SHE was coming. It reached up one of its massive hands and swiped at the air, creating what appeared to be a great rip in reality.

**A garganta! **Isshin thought, gazing at the hole torn in space.

The hollow leaped into the garganta, before taking one last look at the boy with hollows eyes. "I will feed on you boy, it is only a matter of time…" With that, the rip closed and the Hollow was gone.

"What's going on?" a concerned Misaki shouted, running over. "I heard shouting and a loud cra-"Her thoughts broke, when her eyes fell on Isshin. "Oh my god!" she ran over to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." Isshin said, standing up shakily. **May be sore for a while, but otherwise alright.**

"What happened?" his wife asked.

**Crap... gotta think of something fast… **Isshin's thought, trying to come up with a believable story. "Well uh, me and Ichigo were goofing around and I kind of ran into this tree…" He said with a grin, trying to pass as truthful. His wife squinted her eyes, obviously not buying it.

"I'm tired." The pair turned to see Ichigo approaching them, more shuffling than walking. Slamming the huge hollow had taken a lot out of his eight year old frame, now the poor boy was on the verge of collapse.

"Ichigo, what happened?" Misaki asked, kneeling down to the boy's level.

"There was this big monster." Ichigo muttered, falling forwards into the woman's embrace. "It threw Uncle into the wall, I made it go away…" he trailed off with a yawn, placing his head on Misaki's shoulder.

**Guess they were playing around after all… **the woman thought. She turned back to the now even more confused Isshin. How the hell did he go from slamming a hollow to falling asleep like that?

IIIIIIIII

That night, Isshin made a decision. **I guess I have to now... **He turned to Ichigo, long recovered from his nap and now stuffing his face with their dinner. "Hey Ichigo, I want you to go somewhere with me tonight."

"Where to?" Ichigo replied, not turning away from his food.

"Gonna see an old friend of mine." Isshin replied. "I think it's time you met him."

A scowl went across the boy's face. "I don't wanna; Gurren Lagann is coming on soon."

"He runs a caaaandy shop."

Ichigo put his chopsticks down. "When are we leaving?"

Isshin chuckled at the response; kids will do anything for candy. **Feel bad tricking him like that… but he needs to know… **After cleaning up and washing the dishes, the pair left the house, with the promise of being back before too late. The moon hung high overhead as they approached the center of the city. Isshin sighed. **I hope it isn't too much for him, but if he keeps getting stronger…**

"So, what's this guy like?"

Isshin looked down, surprised by his nephew's question. "Well I've known him for a quite a long time. I guess you could say he's very… different."

"Weird different or funny different?"

Isshin chuckled. "Maybe a little of both I guess." Their conversation dragged on for a few more minutes until they reached a building that seemed out of place. It was a small wooden building, almost like a shack in the middle of the city. The alleyway it sat at the end of was devoid of anything else, save a black cat eyeing the two from the top of a fence. As the two walked down the alley, Ichigo found it difficult to take his eyes off of the cat. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about it just felt off. The cat seemed to mimic his gaze, following him as he walked.

As they approached the door, a man in long robes and a green and yellow bucket hat greeted them outside the shop. "Ah Isshin, nice to see you." He said, nodding towards his visitor. "This must be Ichigo, how do you do?" The shopkeeper asked, handing the shorter traveler a red lollipop. To his amusement, the boy shoved the thing almost into his mouth immediately. **Kids love their candy… ** The man with the bucket hat turned back to Isshin. "So, to what do I owe this late night visit?

"Something happened today…" Isshin said, not sure where to begin. "… well actually the same thing happened twice today."

"Is it something to do with Ichigo?" Urahara asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes." Isshin began to explain. "He had a fight today with another kid, he was getting beaten…"

"I was not!" Ichigo shouted. "I was just playing around."

"Of course you were." Urahara said, patting the annoyed boys head.

"Something happened." Isshin continued. "His eyes changed color, they became a Hollows eyes." Urahara's eyes narrowed. "The boy he was fighting broke his fist trying to hit him, and when Ichigo struck back he broke the boy's ribs in one punch."

"A hollows eyes?" Ichigo questioned.

Urahara closed his eyes, seeming to be lost in thought. "And the second time?"

"A Hollow attacked. It threw me aside like a ragdoll, but Ichigo was able to throw it."

"Throw it?" Urahara spat out in surprise. **An eight year old tossed a Hollow? **

"Pretty awesome aren't I?" the boy said, flexing his muscles. "I showed that monster whose boss!"

Not paying attention to the boy's boasts, the shopkeeper's mind was hard at work. What did all of this mean? The boy didn't seem affected at all by what had happened; here he was goofing off like any other kid would. "Isshin, you said that he attacked the hollow after it threw you?"

"Yes."

"What are Hollows?" Ichigo questioned, growing annoyed at not knowing what was going on.

Urahara bent down to get eye level with the boy. "Ichigo, this is very important." He waited until the boys eyes locked with his. "Why did you hit that boy as hard as you did?"

"He was making me angry." Ichigo said simply. "He called my auntie ugly."

Urahara almost laughed. He stood up and turned back to Isshin. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Why is that?"

"Think about it, the hollow in him may only come out when he reaches an emotional extreme." Urahara explained. "First when someone he cared about was insulted, and again when you were attacked by the Hollow.

"This must be a part of the instinctual behavior you were talking about." Isshin reasoned.

"Dang it, what is a Hollow!" Ichigo shouted, increasingly annoyed at his question getting ignored.

The shopkeeper looked at the boy, and then looked back to Isshin, before turning back inside; motioning for the others to follow. "Take a seat." The visitors obliged. "Ichigo, you remember that monster you saw today, the big black one?"

"Yeah."

"That is a Hollow." Urahara explained. "You see, they are monsters that appear from time to time." He opted to simplify things as much as possible, better not to flood an eight year old's thoughts with death, souls, and what not.

"You mean there are more of those things?" Ichigo thought with a twinge of fear, but also deep inside, a rush of excitement.

"Yes, quite a bit more." Isshin added. "Most people can't see them, but certain people can." He smiled down at his nephew. "You're one of them."

"Unlike me and your uncle though, you have a special talent." Urahara continued.

"Really, what is it?" Ichigo asked excitement in his tone.

"You have some of a hollow's abilities inside you, ever since you were born." The shopkeeper explained. "That rush you felt when you fought the monster, the power in your fist when you defeated that boy; that was a hollows power."

Ichigo froze up. He had a monster's power, did that make him one? Part of him thought the news was the coolest thing ever, hell he was practically a super hero. But those things… He turned to Isshin, torn on how to react. "Uncle, what does this mean?"

Isshin's eyes widened, surprised at the boys question. He had thought the kid would turn a backflip at learning he had special powers, but he seemed almost solemn. **That encounter must have gotten to him more than I thought. **He wrapped a shoulder around the boy's shoulders. "It doesn't mean anything, even with the hollow powers; you're still my nephew after all." Ichigo smiled at his uncles words.

"You're still you kid, even I can tell that." The shopkeeper added. "I am interested though, what are you going to do if you see a Hollow again?"

Ichigo wormed out of his uncles grasp and stood, placing a hand on his chest. "I'll fight it."

"Oh?" the shopkeeper replied. "And why's that?"

"I stopped it from hurting my uncle." Ichigo said. "I'll keep them from hurting anyone else too! Because at the end of the day..." Ichigo's voice trailed off. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath. "…This is my territory." His eyelids opened, revealing black and amber eyes glaring back.

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_**AN: And that's it, the first chapter of Rogue Soul 2.0. I had the idea of Ichigo gaining Hollow abilities from birth and loved it. Yes, Ichigo is not a human in this work. NOT A HUMAN, even if he doesn't know that yet. For those of you wondering who his actual parents are, I mentioned his dad's name in this chapter. Pairings have not been decided yet, but there will be some. I'm thinking Ichigo x Harem personally. BTW, if you think Ichigo is crazy with the Hollow instincts now, wait till the hormones hit. **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: So, Chapter 2. Hopefully this chapter helps to clear up just how powerful Ichigo is at this point. Yes, he was able to throw a hollow at age 8, but it didn't really damage it, just kind of annoyed it. Any other questions please feel free to ask. I check my pages a few times every day so if you leave me something, trust me, I'll see it. Also, this chapter begins with a poll opening for who you believe will be a good choice for the Ichi-harem. I will keep a running tally on the votes and decide by a certain chapter in the future who will and who won't be in it. Only rules in regards to it are that it obviously has to be female, sadly Kokkaku can't be included, I have other plans for her. **_

_**Chapter 2:**_

"**Because at the end of the day… this is my territory."**

That line had shaken Isshin when it had come out of his nephew's mouth. It had been two years since the river side incident with the Hollow, and the man had been on edge ever since. Thankfully there here hadn't been any major incidents like the first one, but it was the more subtle changes in Ichigo that were bothering him. First of all, the boy had seemingly grown fangs in the past few months. When he first became aware of this, he had taken the boy to the dentist to try and get them back to normal. This turned out to be ineffective though, the pointy ends growing back after only a few days.

Urahara had informed him that this wasn't something to really worry about, "probably just a side effect of his latent hollow nature." Another problem came in the form of the boy's ever increasing diet. He could consume food at an absolutely inhuman rate, causing the family to make almost daily trips to the super market to satisfy his almost insatiable hunger. Seeing this reminded Isshin of how things were in the soul society. For the most part it is unnecessary for a spirit to consume food, however there were exceptions. These were the souls who had enough spiritual power or "reaitsu" to stand a chance at joining up with Shinigami in the Sereitei. The only other spirits who had the need to eat were Hollows, spirits which had become corrupt for various reasons. It was a common held belief that the greater the hunger, the more powerful the spirit. The sheer scale of Ichigo's diet worried Isshin immensely; just how powerful could this kid become?

While it may not be an issue at the moment, a potentially greater problem with Ichigo was on the horizon. In his most recent conversation with Urahara, a disturbing fact had passed between them. Because of his natural Hollow tendencies, when he reached maturity it was highly likely that Ichigo could get far more territorial. It would not be a blind drive like that seen in a normal Hollow, but he would most definitely get into many more brawls around the city; and if Isshin wasn't careful he could easily end up being a granduncle far earlier than he had ever expected. To his relief, since Ichigo was only ten at the moment; they still had a few years to figure out how to combat that when the time comes.

School had been a pleasant surprise for Isshin and Misaki however; since it soon became evident that due to his reputation, most of the other students had become too frightened by Ichigo to try and pick a fight with him. One kid however, had made the mistake of calling him "snaggle tooth" to his face one too many times. That was a mistake not soon made again. While he hadn't gotten into much trouble over the past two years, this state bothered the boy's teachers; who said he was more likely to sit against the fence at recess than try to play with the other children.

One thing that had stayed constant in Ichigo's life however, was his interest in martial arts. Beginning with his entrance into the sport, he had been riding a two year unbeaten streak in his age group. After a while things had gotten boring for the boy, and he began to ask to be moved up the age brackets and compete against the older contestants. Surprisingly, this request was granted almost immediately, perhaps because it was backed by the parents of every other child in his age group.

At ten years of age he entered his first tournament in the twelve to fourteen age group. Many of the other contestants thought him an oddity, perhaps some kid who was a little tall for his age? They soon learned that this was not an issue of size or some fluke; when Ichigo rolled through the first round against a much bigger thirteen year old. Isshin had hopes that maybe now would be the time that Ichigo could finally learn some humility. His hopes were dimming as Ichigo continued his run through the lower rounds with seemingly little effort.

"Oh my, is that your son there?"

Isshin turned his head to see a woman with long black hair looking at him with a smile. "Yeah." Isshin answered. "…well he's my nephew actually."

"It's rare for them to allow someone to jump into a higher age group; he must have worked really hard."

**If only she knew… **Isshin thought. He didn't remember Ichigo ever picking up a weight or practicing in his life. "Yes I suppose it does." He answered with a forced grin. "We're really proud of him."

"Well believe it or not, but my daughter is in this tournament as well." She pointed over to where the contestants not currently fighting were resting. "There she is right there, with the short black hair."

Isshin followed her gaze, and couldn't help but gape at what he saw. **She can't be any older than Ichigo… **It took him a few seconds to realize something else. There wasn't a tournament for girls today. "Is she the only girl here?"

"Yes she is." The woman replied. "She was allowed to jump up an age group just like your son." She explained. "But since there isn't a tournament for girls in this region, she has to compete in this one." That was a very impressive achievement. Ichigo had gotten pushed up simply because he was far stronger and faster than other children his age. For somebody to get through simply because of their own natural skill, they would have to be exceptionally talented. "It's funny…" the woman continued. "Three years ago her grandfather was pressuring her to become a miko at our shrine, and now here she is clobbering people." She giggled to herself, Isshin chuckled along mildly. "Oh, where are my manners; my name is Misaka Arisawa." She said, extending her hand.

"Isshin Kurosaki."

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"Ichigo Kurosaki"

Hearing his name called, the boy in question jumped up and walked over to the ring. He had been the second one called into this match so his opponent was waiting for him. As he approached he saw that his opponent was another larger boy. "Heard you've been getting lucky against some of us kid." Ichigo chose not to respond and bowed to his opponent per regulations. "Don't have anything to say eh?" **Kid isn't saying a word… **he thought, believing he already had the fight all wrapped up. With a signal the fight began.

The older boy took a step forward and threw a quick punch. Ichigo brought his right arm up to bat the fist away. **Gotcha… **as his fist was blocked by Ichigo's forearm, his opponent spun on his forward foot. He brought his non-planted leg around, aiming for the side of Ichigo's exposed head. To his surprise however, his leg connected with nothing but thin air. His gaze turned down to see Ichigo crouching with a smirk etched on his face.

Using the hand he had used to block his opponents initial punch, Ichigo reared back and launched himself up from his crouched position, connecting his fist with the boys open chin, executing a ferocious uppercut. His opponent fell over backwards after the impact. The judge ran over to the boy, checking him for any possible injuries. Satisfied, he turned back to the ring. "Winner: Kurosaki."

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"Tatsuki Arisawa"

The girl with short black hair stood up and approached the ring. As she did so, there were many questioning eyes upon her. What is she doing here? Isn't she a little young to be in this age group? Are they letting a little girl compete in this? These were merely some of the questions being thrown around by those in attendance. Like Isshin had noticed earlier, something like this was almost unheard of.

**I'll show them. **The girl thought, turning to look the referee in the eye. He looked back at the female contestant; not with respect or anticipation but with pity.

"You don't have to actually do this you know." He muttered to her.

"Well I'm going to." Tatsuki answered back defiantly.

"Aren't you afraid you'll get hurt, these guys are a lot bigger and older than you." He questioned.

"Don't worry man; I'll go easy on her." Her opponent said with a smirk. His was only slightly taller than her despite being a good two years older.

"Don't you dare." The girl almost hissed out. She had dealt with that attitude ever since she had joined up with her own dojo. Go easy on her. She's just a girl. I didn't take that fight seriously anyway. I let her win. She had heard it all before, and she wasn't about to take it now.

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"Oh dear." Said one Misaka Arisawa, watching her daughter from the stands.

"Hm, what is it?" Isshin asked.

"He made her mad." Explained Mrs. Arisawa. "Tatsuki hates being treated differently just because she's a girl."

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"Tell you what." The girl's opponent began. "I'll give you one free shot, right here." He pointed to the side of his face.

By now Tatsuki was fuming. This guy wasn't taking her seriously at all, hell he was giving her, a fighter so strong she had jumped age groups, a free shot at his face. She would show him the error of his ways. As the ref signaled the start of the match, she cocked back her right fist. "YOU ASKED FOR IT!" With an audible thud, her small fist collided with the boy's face, the dumb grin quickly contorting into a scowl of agony. A chipped tooth flew away, trailing a line of spit and blood into the air.

Her opponent stumbled for a few moments as she dropped back into her stance ready to continue. "What…..what the hell…" he started to teeter back and forth, before consciousness finally gave way; allowing him to fall limp to the mat below.

"Winner: Tatsuki Arisawa!"

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"Wow that was amazing!" Isshin exclaimed after seeing the girl win her match with a single punch.

"Yes she is something else isn't she?" Mrs. Arisawa replied with a grin of pride. "He really shouldn't have given her a free target like that. Maybe when he wakes up he'll have learned his lesson."

"Heh heh." Isshin chuckled. "With the way our kids are rolling through these fighters, they just might meet up in the finals." To be honest he wouldn't mind that at all, from what he could tell the girl may be his best chance of getting Ichigo to lose.

"That would be something wouldn't it?" asked Mrs. Arisawa. "Maybe then your nephew would actually give some effort in one of his fights."

This surprised Isshin. "What do you mean?"

"I've been watching my daughter do this for some time now, and I can tell when someone is putting in effort or just cruising along." She explained. "From what I can tell your nephew Ichigo is trying very hard at all."

She had hit the nail on the head; to the trained eye it was evident that even against these older boys Ichigo wasn't having much of a challenge. Then again Isshin thought, that might be a good thing, the last time he was really challenged, he had really hurt somebody; cracking some poor kids ribs. "Well I sure hope she can." Isshin answered truthfully. Ichigo would have to learn to control himself and function in the real world; if he could be challenged and not have to resort to using his Hollow power, than that was a definite step in the right direction.

"Excuse me, I haven't missed too much of it have I?"

The pair turned to see an elderly man approaching them on the bleachers. He wore long white robes, slightly accented with red around the collar and sleeves; an oddly shaped black hat sat atop his head, kept in place by a string tied down below his neck. **A priest? **Isshin thought, taking in this new arrival.

"Oh father, it's good to see you could make it." Mrs. Arisawa said, standing up and embracing the older man.

"I couldn't miss my granddaughter's competition now could I?" he answered with a smile. His gaze fell on Isshin. "And who is this man you are talking too?"

"Oh, this is Isshin Kurosaki." She answered. "His nephew is in this tournament as well, and believe it not he skipped age groups too!" "Mr. Kurosaki, this is my father Kaito, he is the priest at the local Shinto shrine."

"Good to meet you sir." Isshin said politely, shaking the older man's hand. After being properly introduced, they all sat down together to watch the next match. "That's right." Isshin said after a while. "Misaka here said something earlier about you wanting Tatsuki to begin training as a Miko right?"

"Hmm?" the old man questioned. "Ah yes, I think she could be quite a fine priestess one day. You see, our family has had a member serve as the priest or priestess of the temple for at least two hundred years now." He explained.

"I see."

"But, it's not like I could deny her something she loves so much." The old man laughed. "If she wants to take part in fights like these instead of following her grandfather, than I'm just going to have to accept that."

"Dad, don't say it like that." Mrs. Arisawa "You make it sound like she running around fighting hoodlums."

"Hahaha I'm just kidding Misaka." The old man laughed, amused by his daughter expression.

The group was not disappointed as their respective children continued to go through their competition with surprising ease. Ichigo had managed to get through all the way to the finals almost entirely unscathed. He had been nicked on the cheek in the quarterfinals while taking it a little too easy. The older boys had stopped taking him so lightly after the first few rounds, but were nonetheless consistently put down.

To the surprise of many of the onlookers, the other combatant in the tournament finals was not one of the regulars, but instead the little girl that had managed to knock out her first opponent with a single punch. Unlike Ichigo, Tatsuki had gotten through the tournament completely unscathed. After her first fight, she had been put into a bad mood and had taken it out on those unfortunate enough to be put up against her. Also unlike Ichigo, she did not mow down her opponents with sheer brute force. As could be expected, her opponents almost always had a distinct advantage in regards to strength; however what she did have was practically flawless technique. To the amazement of all, she managed to throw a fighter almost twice her size during one of her later bouts; all because of clever footing and technique.

In an outcome that could make any bookie cry, in the boys twelve to fourteen age group, the final match would be between a ten year old boy and a ten year old girl.

"Well isn't this a pleasant turn of events." Saito the priest said. "Both of your children in the finals."

"Maybe we'll have to move up again eh?" Isshin said with a laugh.

"That'd be something wouldn't it?" Mrs. Arisawa answered.

"Your boy has tremendous strength for someone his age Mr. Kurosaki." The priest said, drawing Isshin's attention.

"Yeah I know, he can be a handful sometimes." Isshin answered truthfully.

"What kind of training does he do?"

**None. **Isshin thought. This guy had questioned him into a corner. "Nothing special, just normal…weight…stuff."

This drew a raised eyebrow from the older man, but before he could ask another question, their attention was drawn elsewhere. "The final round of the twelve to fourteen age group is about to commence, Tatsuki Arisawa versus Ichigo Kurosaki."

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The two combatants squared off in the center of the ring, sizing each other up. **This guy made it through, he's so much smaller than the others. **Tatsuki thought. Her opponent was only slightly taller than her, with short bright orange hair. His eyes had an almost bored expression, like he already knew the outcome of the fight; probably because she was a girl. **So he's just like the other ones eh?**

Ichigo on the other hand, didn't know what to think of the person lined up in front of him. He had fought his way thru larger opponents all the way to the finals, and now that he is here a person smaller than him, and a girl no less is staring him down. As he was thinking he noticed that she seemed to grow angry, narrowing her eyebrows and gritting her teeth. **What's she so angry about?**

The Ref lowered his hand, signaling the beginning of the match. Tatsuki was the first on the attack, throwing a strong right hand. Ichigo, slightly surprised by the ferocity of her attack, stuck up his left hand to block her attack. Her fist opened before contact and grabbed his blocking arm. While Ichigo was surprised, she took another step forward, narrowing the distance between them. The boy tried to step back, but to his surprise his heels caught something. While he had been distracted by her grabbing his arm, she had moved one of her legs behind his to trip him up. While he was off balance, Tatsuki took advantage. She pulled his arm that she had gripped forward. Now that they were almost chest to chest, she did something nobody was expecting; she reared her head back and slammed it forward, head-butting Ichigo's surprise ridden face. "That should do it." She muttered, opening her eyes. "What the!"

It hadn't done it; for what was looking back at her wasn't an unconscious of pained face, but a surprised one. "That was…pretty good."

She jumped back from her opponent, confused at this turn of events. **That head-butt was a direct hit, how was that kid not unconscious?**

Ichigo shook his head, clearing any cobwebs. "That was the first good hit I've felt this whole time." He said, a little cheerfully. A grin crossed his face, unknowingly giving his opponent a flash of his pointy canines.

This time Ichigo charged forward, throwing his own right hand. Tatsuki narrowly avoided the wild punch; it flew by close enough for here to feel the wind rushing by her ear. **If I'm hit with that, I'm toast. **She ducked low and brought her own fist up into the boys exposed gut, causing him to stop in his tracks. She took advantage once again and spun her heel around, aiming for the side of his head.

**Easy… **Ichigo thought, ducking low. He had won a match earlier after some chump had tried a similar combo. As her leg was coming around he leapt up, trying to finish this fight in a similar manner. His fist caught air, but the girl still went to the ground.

Tatsuki fell back on the ground to get out of the way of the powerful uppercut. Deciding to go for a takedown, she snapped her legs closed around Ichigo's standing ones and snapped around; bringing the boy down to the ground, slamming his face on the matt.

**What the hell is this…? **Ichigo thought, picking himself up. Some girl his age was making him look bad. He had swept through the older boys with little effort, but this one girl was giving him a difficult time.

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"It looks like Tatsuki is going to win." Mrs. Arisawa commented. "Ichigo is strong but he just can't get a hit on her."

"Yes, his habit of going for the killshot is working against him in this one." Isshin added, silently glad that Ichigo couldn't just cruise through.

"The boy lacks technique." Saito added to their surprise. "He has enough strength to win in one punch but just keeps throwing haymakers. All Tatsuki has to do is keep taking advantage of his opening and she could win easily.

"You seem to know a lot about this stuff." Isshin commented. "Used to do a little scuffling of your own back in the day?"

"He he he." The old man chuckled. "A man has to have his secrets sonny."

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Ichigo charged forward, this girl was making him look like an idiot, and that was making him angrier and angrier by the second. He cocked back his right fist once again.

**The same attack as before… **Tatsuki thought, preparing herself to dodge once again. She moved to the left, out of the range of his soon to be thrown punch.

As the punch was thrown, Ichigo's eyes widened. The girl wasn't in front of him anymore. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her, not before him but beside him; hand resting on his right shoulder.

"Got you this time!" she shouted, using her excellent position to rear back with her own fist.

**Crap.**

Her fist collided with the side of his head at maximum velocity, at least equal to the punch which had destroyed that one boy's face rounds before, but this time… something was different. The boy didn't move, not even his head flinched at impact.

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**Oh shit. **Isshin thought, feeling a familiar burst of Reaitsu from his nephew. **This isn't good, if he goes off now… **He looked to his right to see the confused faces of Tatsuki's relatives. **He could kill her… **

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"Eh?!" Tatsuki cried, stepping back.

To her shock, Ichigo turned around almost casually. His breathing was labored and his head hung low, his hair hiding covering his eyes. "I'm not done." He muttered. "Not yet…" He took a step forward.

**What is this guy made of? **Tatsuki thought, staring at the boy before her. **He should have been out cold three times by now.**

Ichigo shot forward once again, intent on ending the fight once and for all. With his hollow power active, there's no way this girl could beat him. He could feel the raw power moving through him, his armor like skin, unbelievable strength, the power… it was intoxicating. He reared back to strike.

"Ichigo… do you know what your name means?"

**Huh?**

"It means he who protects."

…

"What are you doing now Ichigo?"

"**I…I'm being a…"**

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A loud thud echoed throughout the gymnasium. One of the combatants was left standing, the other slat on their backs. The crowd sat in shock at what they had just seen. Isshin was standing, not believing what he had just scene. **Ichigo… He… I… Ichigo… Ichigo lost?** He noticed something. The hollow reaitsu was gone, but it was there when he was throwing the punch… meaning. **He stopped himself. **Isshin couldn't believe seeing his own nephew get knocked out could make him so happy. Ichigo had finally learned some measure of self-control! Sure he had gotten knocked out because of it, but like he said before this was definitely a step in the right direction.

Tatsuki was breathing heavily, hunched over on the mat. Somehow she had won; somehow she had finally knocked that crazy kid out. She replayed the events in her head. When the boy started charging, she had decided to do something a little bit risky. Instead of going for the straight up dodge, she had dropped all of her weight on her back foot and kicked almost straight up with her other leg, kicking him directly in the chin as he was running at full speed. By whatever miracle he had survived her punch, it hadn't returned. He had flown through the air for a way before falling flat on his back, sprawled out on the mat. She turned her gaze to the boy on ground, unconscious. **He was the first one to really try. **She thought. It had been obvious, that as clumsy as he had been in their fight, he was giving it everything he had. Tatsuki respected that. He didn't make some excuse about her being a girl or take it easy on her. **Shoot for a second there I thought he was going to try to kill me… **And his punches, thrown with so much force. With a little training he could be a real monster…

She felt someone grab her arm and raise it into the air.

"Winner: Tatsuki Arisawa!"

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The taste of defeat; Ichigo quickly decided he wanted nothing more to do with it. It tasted bitter and metallic almost like a…well actually exactly like a bloody mouth. After the match he was taken to some kind of medical area inside the gymnasium. While he was unconscious they checked for any kind of damage or signs of possible concussion. To their amazement however, they found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. So shortly after he regained consciousness, they said he was free to go.

"So, how do you feel?" Isshin asked his nephew as they walked out of the medical area.

Ichigo gave him an angry look, something to possibly say.** How they hell do you think I feel?**

Isshin laughed. "I'm proud of you, you know." He stated after calming down.

Ichigo gave him a questioning gaze. "Why? I lost."

"It's not always about winning or losing the fight Ichigo." Isshin explained. "I'm proud of you because you knew when to stop yourself."

Ichigo's eyes turned away. "You know I…"

"Yes I could tell." Isshin replied. "You would have won with that, but in doing so you could have seriously hurt that girl."

"I know." Ichigo muttered, looking back up at his uncle. "That's what makes it so frustrating."

"Frustrating eh?" Isshin questioned. "Tell me Ichigo, why did you stop yourself?"

"Why?" Ichigo questioned. "As I was running forward…" he began. "…I remembered what you said about my name."

Isshin's eyes widened. **Ichigo…**

"My name means he who protects, if I want to be a real man I have to use my power to help others." Ichigo paused for a second. "If I use it to beat up some girl just because I want to win something stupid… I'm nothing more than a bully."

A wide grin crept across Isshin's face. **Ichigo, maybe there's hope for you yet. **"Hey Ichigo."

"Yeah?"

"What do you say we go get some ice cream?"

"Really?!"

"Yeah really."

"Awesome!" In his newly excited state, Ichigo rushed ahead towards the exit. He reached the doors quickly and plowed on through to the parking lot.

"Hey Ichigo wait up!" Isshin took off after his nephew. He pushed open the exit door, he looked around for Ichigo. **Where'd that little guy go off to? **He scanned the parking lot for a little while before locking in on the boy, eventually finding him running towards another group of people. **Heh, how about that. **

"Hey!" Ichigo called out, trying to get the attention of the group about to get in their car.

"Huh?" a woman with long dark hair turned around. "Oh, it's Mr. Kurosaki's Ichigo."

The girl beside did all she could to make sure her jaw didn't drop off in shock. **I don't even… he looks like nothing happened!**

"How did you do it?" Ichigo all but shouted at Tatsuki.

"Wh…what?"

"Moving around like that!" Ichigo continued. "How did you do it?"

"I was taught to." She explained. "It's a part of learning martial arts." **Does he really not know that? **She mentally asked herself.

"I never really had to." Ichigo said. "I've generally just been strong enough to hit something once and it'll fall over."

"I know!" Mrs. Aisawa exclaimed suddenly. "Tatsuki, how about you help teach Ichigo some techniques?"

**Teach him some techniques? **She had been fighting the guy just under an hour ago, and now she was being asked to teach him some moves? He had absolutely no background whatsoever… but then again he was easily one of the toughest people she had ever fought, and so far the only one willing to go full tilt against her… "Why not?" she eventually decided.

"I think that is a great idea." Isshin said, arriving at the scene. **It'll be good for Ichigo to get some real friends. She can actually kick his ass if he gets to rowdy. **"Where would be a good place?"

"Hmm." Mrs. Aisawa considered. "I know, the Aisawa shrine would be a good place, it's very open and quiet."

"Sorry to keep you waiting everybody, but these old bones don't move like they used to." Saito was walking out of the building, heading towards the group.

"Oh, we have good news father." Mrs. Aisawa said. "Tatsuki will be teaching Ichigo here some techniques, would you mind if they used some of the shrines grounds to practice?"

"Oh no, I wouldn't mind at all." He replied. "As long as they don't disrupt and of the shrines daily functions, they can practice all they want."

"Sweet." Ichigo said, turning back to his dad. "Can we go get that ice cream now?"

"Ha ha ha." Isshin laughed. "Sure, why not." He turned to the others. "Goodbye for now then, how's Saturday?"

"Fine by me." With a nod Isshin left, following after Ichigo; the boy had decided it best to sprint towards the car. Where he not in such a hurry, he may have noticed the old priest glaring a hole in the back of his head.

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That Saturday, Ichigo arrived a little after noon. The Aisawa shrine was not too far away from his house, so he had convinced his mom to just let him walk over there. As he approached, he could see the traditional Shinto archways, the paper ofuda hanging from various objects throughout the grounds. **This must be the place. **As he took one step under the archway, a strange feeling came over him. It was not strictly speaking pain, but a slight discomfort spread throughout his body. He stepped back out the way he had come and felt completely normal. **What is this? **After experimenting by sticking his foot in and out figured out that walking onto the property itself was what triggered the strange feeling. **I have to meet Tatsuki here today… I can't let something this stupid stop me. **He decided to just plow on into the temple, discomfort be damned. As he walked further into the compound, he noticed two buildings, one on either side of him. The one on the left seemed to be the temple itself, more ofuda hang from its rafters and a collection box sat directly outside. The other building seemed more residential, so he decided to begin his search there. He approached the side of the building and found a sliding door.

He slid the door open and looked into the room. It was completely decorated in traditional Japanese design. A low table was placed in the center with cushions surrounding each of the four sides. He saw that two of these were occupied, one by the girl he came to see, and the other by somebody new. The new girl seemed rather timid, having given a slight gasp when he slung the door open. She had long orange hair, a shade not too far off from Ichigo's own; her eyes were a pretty shade of brown. She was wearing a purple button up shirt and a knee length pink skirt. Tatsuki on the other hand, was sitting back in a t-shirt and knee length camo shorts. The two seemed to be in the middle of eating Lunch, as they both seemed to be slurping down noodles before Ichigo barged in. "Uh, hello?" he said after a period of awkward silence.

"Oh that's right." Tatsuki said, leaning back a bit. "You were coming by today." She grabbed her bowl and slurped the rest of it down in one go. "Alright, Orihime, this is Ichigo." She said, pointing towards the boy in question. "I'm going to be giving him some lessons in technique." She then pointed to the orange haired girl. "That's Orihime, she's nice, but doesn't like to fight."

"Hey." Ichigo waved at the girl, who waved back meekly in response. Tatsuki stood up and walked out the door past Ichigo. He followed her out into the yard. The feeling he had gotten earlier was still there, but thankfully it felt like he was getting used to it. "Is she really shy or something?" Ichigo asked.

"Orihime?" Tatsuki answered. "No, not really." She started to do some stretches. "Her brother died not too long ago, she's still pretty messed up about it."

"Oh." Ichigo responded, not wanting to push the issue any more.

The two began training not soon afterwards. Tatsuki soon learned that Ichigo had no problems whatsoever with his strength and conditioning after having him punch through some boards and run around the compound a couple dozen times. His problem was his absolute ignorance of anything that could ever be considered proper technique. "You can't always just rush in and throw punches and expect to come out on top." She explained. "You have to put yourself in the right position to succeed, and take advantage of your opponent's mistakes." She began with something simple, something she had been taught when she first began fighting, the step technique. It was a simple thing really; use your opponent's momentum to move yourself quickly to their side and counterattack. It was the technique Tatsuki had used to belt Ichigo in the side of the head; as well as the technique that triggered the release of this hollow power. "If your opponent isn't prepared for it, it'll work every time." Surprisingly, Ichigo was soaking up the information like a sponge. Perhaps it was his inner hollow's drive to constantly get better and eventually be the best, or maybe Tatsuki was just a damn good teacher; either way Ichigo was learning.

Unfortunately however, it may not have been going as quickly as the boy had hoped. "Why can't I do this any faster?" Ichigo exclaimed. He had figured out the steps, but couldn't move at any real speed.

"You will eventually." Tatsuki explained, taking a seat. She looked up and saw that the sun was beginning to go down. The two of them had been at it all day, Orihime watching from the side. While she had to admit Ichigo was a good student and it was great fun watching him trip over himself, she felt like that was enough for the day. "Hey Ichigo, I'm done for the day, come back tomorrow."

"But I was just getting started!" he complained, causing him to lose his balance and fall over.

"Tell you what." Tatsuki said after a second of thought. "If you want to practice it more, why don't you walk like that all the way back to your house?"

Ichigo sighed. "Fine, I will then." He headed away for the entrance, doing the goofy walk all the way there. "See you tomorrow… you too Orihime." He added as an afterthought. Tatsuki waved a single hand to wave goodbye, after a second of hesitation Orihime did as well.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I

Night had fallen by the time Ichigo had reached the halfway point home. He had repeated the steps Tatsuki had taught him the entire way, earning weird looks when passing through the more populated streets. Now however, he was moving through a wide deserted alleyway. For the normal ten year old, this would be a frightening place, but because of the latent power within him, Ichigo had dropped childish fears a long time ago. It's hard to be afraid of something in the dark when you are in part from the dark as well. He had just reached the midway point in this alleyway, surrounded on both sides by tall buildings; when a voice called out.

"Stop right there." He did as the voice said and stopped in his tracks. He looked around, trying to find the owner of the voice. "I'm up here."

Ichigo turned his gaze up and when he did, his eyes widened in confusion. Standing there, on what appeared to be a clothesline connecting the two building was the old priest he had seen before. "You're that old man that was with Tatsuki's mom."

"Yes, that's right." The old man said from his perch. "I am also Tatsuki's grandfather Saito Arisawa."

"Ok." Ichigo said, getting more confused by the second. "Why are you stopping me here in this alley, and how are you standing on that wire?"

"You know good and well why I stopped you here." The coldness in those words shocked Ichigo into silence. "You thought you could hide in that form didn't you hollow?"

**Hollow? **Ichigo thought. **What, how does he know?!**

"If you had touched one hair on that girls head at the tournament I would have ended you right then and there." Saito continued. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out two strips of Ofuda. "However I prefer this method." He tossed the strips into opposite directions, one each heading towards the entrances into the wide alleyway. When they came into contact with the ground, flames burst up, creating a wall of flame at either exit. Ichigo was trapped. "No audience, no mess, just me and my prey."

_**HAHA Evil cliffhanger. Well anyways, tell me what you guys think. Remember to vote on the Ichi-harem poll if you are at all interested. Also, I published a new story recently called. Legend of Zelda: Laws of Asimov. Simply put, it's Zelda with Robots and shit. If you're into that kind of thing check it out.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: Sorry about the long wait. I can be a little lazy, ok maybe a lot Lazy. That and my classes at University didn't help any. Well anyway, here's the next chapter I hope you guys like it. Like I said in the previous chapter, if you have any preferences or suggestions as far as the pairings/harem goes feel free to voice them in the reviews please. One of the things which motivates me the most is feedback. So any you can give is greatly appreciated. **_

"You know good and well why I stopped you here." The coldness in those words shocked Ichigo into silence. "You thought you could hide in that form didn't you hollow?"

**Hollow? **Ichigo thought. **What, how does he know?!**

"If you had touched one hair on that girls head at the tournament I would have ended you right then and there." Saito continued. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out two strips of Ofuda. "However I prefer this method." He tossed the strips into opposite directions, one each heading towards the entrances into the wide alleyway. When they came into contact with the ground, flames burst up, creating a wall of flame at either exit. Ichigo was trapped. "No audience, no mess, just me and my prey."

"What." Ichigo muttered, taking a step back from the man before him.

"You seem surprised, shocked even…" Saito muttered in the same cold voice. "Have you never run into a human that could fight back?"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, still confused. "I'm just walking home…"

"STOP PLAYING DUMB!" The old man shouted, jumping down from his perch to the ground below. "I've dealt with enough of your kind over the years to know a Hollow when I sense one." He reached into his coat and pulled out two more strips of ofuda. He held them in his hands for a short time before both erupted in flames.

Ichigo gasped out in surprise, taking another step back. **They're on fire… **To his astonishment, this fact didn't seem to faze Saito in the least; he simply stood there holding the burning strips of paper.

"These Ofuda will cleanse you from the face of the earth, you vile beast." In one swift motion, he threw the flaming strips; sending them flying through the air like arrows towards the still speechless Ichigo.

"Crap!" Ichigo shouted, diving out of the way of the incoming projectiles. As he hit the ground, he turned his head to see the strips whizzing by. They kept flying until they collided with the wall of a nearby building, exploding in fire. **What was that…? **The young hybrid turned his gaze back to the priest.

"I applaud your agility, but it will only drag things out, Hollow." Saito said, drawing two more strips from inside his coat. "We at the Arisawa shrine have been perfecting this technique for centuries. By embedding the power of our spirits into these sacred Ofuda, we can fight off you evil and wondering ghosts." He tossed his new set, mildly surprised when Ichigo dodged them as well.

"Look old man, I don't want to fight you!" Ichigo shouted. "I'm not your enemy!" His confusion was rapidly becoming anger. Couldn't this idiot see that he didn't mean any harm?

"Silence," Saito said with a wave of his arm. "This banter has gone on long enough." Once again he reached into his overcoat. He tossed another round of Ofuda.

**Again? **Ichigo thought, once again leaping out of the way. **What the?! **In the blink of an eye, Saito had launched a second barrage, this one aimed directly for him. Since he was in midair, it was impossible to maneuver. His instincts taking over, the boy pulled his arms before him, hoping to block the worst of it.

The Ofuda impacted with a bang, sending its target flying back into the side of the wide alleyway. "Hmmph." Saito muttered. It was easy to see that the impact had damaged the side of the building somewhat; cracks evident along its surface. The view at the impact point however, was still blocked from the resulting smoke of the explosion. **That didn't finish him off… I can still sense him there.** He readied two more ofuda, preparing for the finishing strike.

"I've had just about enough."

**What? **Saito thought, feeling a surge in energy from his target. He glared into the dissipating smoke, his target slowly being revealed. His eyes widened at what he saw. There before him stood the boy he had chased down. His shirt, and arms obviously suffering damage from the burns. The eyes however are what caught Saito's attention. Instead of the brown color he had seen at the tournament and later on at the shrine, the eyes staring back at him where black, with golden irises. **The eyes of a hollow… **Any doubts Saito had about trying to destroy the boy were gone in an instant. **And to think, I was almost fooled by him before… **The priest cleared his throat. "So I see you've finally decided to show yourself."

"Not quite." Ichigo said, narrowing his eyes. "I've decided to defend myself."

"Oh really." Saito replied. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

"By beating you into the dirt." the beginning of a grin began to grow.

"Hehehe." Saito chuckled. He reached into his coat and pulled out two longer strips. "I may not be as spry as I used to be…"

Ichigo could see the writing on the strips from where he stood. **It's the same as the ones before, but what is he going to do with it? **

As he looked on, the priest began to wrap the strips around his fists. After his knuckles were completely covered, the old man pulled the strips tight. He clenched his fists, flames bursting from the paper. "…I can still deal with something like you easily enough." He charged forward, drawing back his right fist.

"Not good." Ichigo mumbled, attempting to duck under Saito's blazing haymaker. As he ducked under the priest's outstretched arm, he launched an uppercut, only to hit air. **What… **He gritted his teeth in pain as a kick collided with his exposed back, sending him flying forwards.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Unknown to the battlers below, they were being watched. A certain black cat had decided to stop and view the show. **My my Ichigo, what have you gotten yourself into this time. **

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Just like in the tournament." Saito stated. Ichigo pulled himself back up and turned a sharp look towards the priest. "You swing around like a berserker." The hollow didn't seem to have any kind of skill whatsoever. As most hollow, he was much stronger and faster than an average person, but if he didn't know how to use any of it, he was a sitting duck. Saito opened his mouth to speak again, when a strange sensation overcame him. His chin felt strange, almost…wet. He reached up and wiped his chin with his wrapped hands, eyes opening in shock. His chin was bleeding! That meant…That meant that the kid had actually managed to knick him on that last punch. **But that's impossible… he never even touched me... unless… **Unless the air displaced by his flying fist had made the cut. But for something like that to happen… **For one in such a small body to throw a punch with that much force… **He glanced at the hybrid. Before him stood a young child, if he was allowed to grow stronger… **Before too long he may be too much for me, skill be damned. **

"What's the matter old man?" Ichigo said, a grin growing. "Did I scare you?"

Saito shook his head clear. In the future he may be too powerful, but he could stop that now, before this beast before him was a threat to his family. He lunged forward once again, fists blazing. He led with a light jab from his left, enough to make his opponent raise an arm to block it.

Ichigo blocked the left hand jab, and saw that the priest was pulling back his right for another haymaker. He raised his right arm in response, hoping to block that blow as well.

_**You idiot… **_a voice called out.

**What the…**

After Ichigo had brought up his other arm, Saito smirked. Instead of following through with his punch, he lunged forward; slamming his knee into the boys now exposed gut. The boy cried out and clutched his stomach. "Take this!" The priest shouted, throwing another burning punch.

Ichigo saw stars as the punch connected; he could feel the blistering heat burning his cheek as the fist impacted. Suddenly, he was dimly aware that he was flying through the air. His limp body hit the ground hard, leaving a slight indent in the concrete. The hybrid lay there panting, trying to get at least some of his breath back. **Just what is this guy… **he thought drowsily. He hadn't been in a situation like this as long as he could remember. This was his territory, his turf. He could accept being beaten on human talents alone, but even with his powers active?

He struggled to open his eyes. Saito was once again standing high above him on the wires. The old man had rolled back his right sleeve, revealing an entire arm wrapped in ofuda. "Now, you're finished!" His entire arm went ablaze, the flames growing far brighter than they had before. He leapt up high and reared back, aiming for the now defenseless boy.

Ichigo fought, but his body wouldn't move, it was as if some unseen force was holding him down, as if gravity had suddenly gotten stronger. His eyes closed in anticipation of the hit. **Is this the end of me? **

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

**Oh my… **

The feline spectator of the fight rose to its feet. It stretched out, yawning in the process. **Looks like Ichigo isn't ready for someone like him… **The ground shook as a large explosion rocked the area. The force of the blast blew out the windows of nearby buildings. **Wonder what I should do…**

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Tatsuki, I'm gonna stop by the store, ok?"

"Ok, Mom." Tatsuki replied from the passenger seat. They were returning from taking her friend Orihime back to her home.

"Is there anything you want?" her mother asked.

"No, I'm fine." The girl responded, looking out of the window lazily. As she gazed at the buildings rolling by, she found her thoughts drifting off to the boy from earlier. She still couldn't believe that she had agreed to teach him some of her technique; he had just been so eager to figure it out. To her surprise he had caught on rather quickly, even going so far as to walk home doing the same simple foot technique. One thing she still didn't understand however was why her grandfather had been watching them like a hawk the entire time. She giggled a little. He liked to think he was being sneaky, but she had always been able to find him when he was off hiding somewhere; for meditation or whatnot. For some strange reason nobody else seemed to be able to do so. It had become a bit of a running gag in their family that Tatsuki had a 'sixth sense' when it came to finding her grandfather. Ichigo must not have noticed it either, or he would have definitely said something. I mean, who wouldn't be creeped out by an old man glaring daggers at you from the bushes?

The car came to a halt outside of a service station. "I'll be back in a second Tatsuki." Mrs. Arisawa said as she got out of the car. She shut the door behind her and locked it, leaving Tatsuki alone. She continued to stare out the window, thinking about the events of the day.

BOOM!

She bolted up in her seat, the sound of a nearby explosion shaking her from her thoughts. Off in the distance she could see fire stretching high into the sky. She gaped at the display before, feeling the heat radiating off of the column of fire. Something felt familiar about it somehow she noticed. She had felt something like this before. **Grandpa? **Tatsuki unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out of the car, heading inside of the store. "Mom! Mom!" she shouted as she flung open the door. "Did you see that?!"

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "See what?"

"The explosion!" Tatsuki exclaimed, pointing at the pillar of fire off in the distance, which was now in the process of dying down. "Over there, can't you see?!"

The woman looked to where her daughter was pointing. "I don't see anything sweetie."

"What?" Tatsuki asked, looking back at the fire. "It's right there!"

"Tatsuki calm down, you're just seeing things." Her mother said. "You've had a long day and you must be tired."

"Mom, I'm telling you it's right there!" Tatsuki exclaimed. "Something happened over there and I think Grandpa may be in trouble!"

"That's enough." Her mother said, silencing the girl. "Trust me, nothing is happening." She leaned down and rubbed her daughters head. "Now go wait in the car for me ok?"

"But…" Tatsuki's latest line was cut off by a stern glance from her mother. She sighed and walked back out of the store; there was no arguing with her mother when she got like this. The girl approached the door of the car. An inhuman shriek cut the air like a knife, chilling Tatsuki to the bone. **What…what was that… **It was coming from the same area as the fire, she didn't understand why, but she knew it was coming from the same area as the fire. She just knew, she knew through the same way she knew her grandfather was in that area. "And Grandpa's over there…" Pushing down her mounting fear, she turned towards the now almost depleted flames. "…If mom can't see it, then I'll have to do something myself." With that she broke off into a run towards her grandfather.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"That should be it." A heaving Saito sighed standing up. The body of his opponent lay before him, imbedded in the bottom of a crater over fifteen feet deep. The buildings on either side of the crater bore blackened burns from the heat of the priests attack. His arm steamed as the fire died and the ofuda strips fell off, their power spent. The attack had taken a surprisingly large amount of his power to perform. Now, he found himself pretty well spent. **No matter, **he thought, I can get some rest at home now that I have finished off that Hollow. He stared at the limp form of his prey, lying in the rubble of the ruined alleyway. Something just wasn't right about all of this. If the Hollow had been destroyed, then why didn't its body disintegrate into spirit particles? It just lied there as if it had been a simple human who had died. But that couldn't be right, he had felt the hollow energy and seen the eyes for himself, there was no mistaking what the boy was. "Maybe even that wasn't enough to completely finish him off." Saito mumbled, coming out of his thoughts. He reached into his coat and pulled out more strips of Ofuda. Even as tired as his old body is, he could still manage a few more of these simple attacks. An inhuman shriek cut the air, a sound all too familiar to the aging priest, the sound of a Hollow, and it was hungry. "Another one!" he exclaimed. **Dammit, it must have been attracted by the spiritual pressure we've been giving off. **He cursed himself for his foolishness, fighting a full strength would be difficult with his remaining strength.

He could see the beast approaching now; it was large and bipedal, with two arms packed with muscle. Its bone-white mask was reminiscent of a monkey, giving the Hollow an appearance not unlike some demonic Ape. It shrieked once again before it began to charge the priest headlong, looking to ram into his smaller form. Not taking his eyes off the charging hollow, he darted out to ofuda, stopping the hollow in its tracks. It shrieked out in pain, sending Saito a hate filled gaze.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

**Well this could get interesting. **The black cat was no longer lounging around on the rooftop. The massive explosion caused by Saito's last attack had caused it to move across the street and out of the immediate blast radius. It was still close enough however, to have a good luck at what was now going on between Saito and the newly arrived Hollow. **Weak as he is now, I wonder if he can still manage to take one of them on… What's this? **Someone was approaching the area? **That shouldn't be possible… This area is sealed away from outside interference, all of the people have been moved and no normal person could see anything strange going on here, much less walk right in. ** The cat leapt up to the nearest rooftop and ran towards the new arrival.

After a few building to building jumps and some skillful feline agility, it came across what it was searching for. "Grandpa!"

**That's the girl Ichigo fought at the tournament…**

"Grandpa!" Tatsuki shouted, jogging through the abandoned streets. "Where are you!?" The girl was becoming more and more distressed the farther she went, as the streets became deserted, an eerie silence creeping over the area. There was an explosion here not too long ago, this wasn't right; she thought something should be here, police cars, fire engines, an ambulance, SOMETHING! "Grandpa!" she shouted again, not giving up despite the growing unease. Her 'sixth sense' leading her closer and closer to the battleground.

**She's heading towards those other two… **The cat watched as the girl fled closer to danger, a grin growing on its face. **You better wake up soon Ichigo; your new friend might need some help.**

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Saito took a deep breath as he struggled to stand on his own two knees. **It seems that last attack I used took more out of me than I thought… **He had been holding off the Hollow for a few minutes, but just didn't have enough strength left to do any lasting damage. Well, aside from disintegrating the ape-like hollows left arm from the elbow down with a few well-placed ofuda. He doubted he could pull that off again though, he could throw two, maybe three more with the strength he had left, and that just wouldn't be enough. The Hollow was approaching slowly now, wary of the old priests next move. While most base hollows are not very intelligent, they can have a basic sense of what can and can't hurt them. In this one's eyes, Saito was definitely the former.

"Grandpa!"

His heart froze. He knew that voice. The Hollow stopped as well, as if sensing something in the surrounding area. It glanced at Saito once more before darting off in the opposite direction, in search of an easier meal. "Tatsuki!" The old man shouted, taking off after the hollow, fear powering his aging limbs. He dove through the fire he had created to contain their fight in the alleyway after the hollow. He could see it standing in the middle of the street staring down the deserted road. It cried out in hunger. Following its gaze, the old man's heart skipped a beat, seeing his granddaughter frozen in place, staring at the beast barely fifty feet away from her. Why she was here or why she could see the thing before her never crossed the priests mind, his only concern was for her safety. The Hollow began to move forward, sensing the fear in its new potential meal. "Tatsuki!" Saito shouted out.

"G-Grandpa.." Tatsuki mumbled, barely registering the old man for fear of the Hollow before her.

"Run!" Saito shouted, reaching into his coat. He pulled out his four ofuda, two for each hand. Limits be damned, he wasn't about to let his granddaughter become the victim of a hollow attack. He hurled the slips of blazing paper at the retreating Hollow. They slammed into his back with explosive force, successfully blowing off what remained of its left arm at the shoulder, and knocking the creature to the ground hard. Using what remained of his strength; Saito sprinted up to the beast and jumped on top of it, trying to pin it down. "I…won't…let you..."

With a roar, the Hollow flung him off, sending him flying away to land hard on the street. "Grandpa!" Tatsuki shouted, her terror broken by concern. She started towards his prone form, but stopped as the heavily damaged yet still moving Hollow jumped in her way. It looked at her with hunger in its eyes, assured of its final victory now that the nuisance had been dealt with. It charged the once again motionless girl, ready to devour her soul. Tatsuki looked on in horror, her legs unable to move, as the strange white faced monster bore down her.

Something blurred by out of the corner of her eye, heading straight for the charging hollow. She barely had time to register what was happening; the Hollow was mere inches from her when suddenly…

CRACK

A fist came out of nowhere from the left and connected directly with the side of the Hollows gaping jaw. The impact was fierce, knocking the Hollow off course and sending him rolling into the side of a nearby building. Tatsuki saw the outstretched fist, there were burn marks on the knuckles and forearms; following the arm back to its body, she saw standing before her a boy, but not just any boy, it was the one she had been training mere hours before. "Ichigo?" she muttered.

To her, the figure before her both was undoubtedly Ichigo, same clothes, same bright orange hair; but there was also something different. The color of his eyes had shifted, from the chocolate brown she had seen before, to a Golden Iris with Black Sclera; eyes just like the creature he had just punched. Not only the color of the eyes, but the look as well. Gone was the carefree, childish look he had earlier in the day, replaced with a serious, almost malicious glare. He turned his gaze to her, recognition seeming to spark. "Yeah."

"My g-grandpa…" she stuttered, pointing towards Saitos limp, but still breathing body. Ichigo's hollowfied eyes widened, looking back and forth between the two. A hollow's shriek filled the air, causing Tatsuki to jump. Ichigo on the other hand, remained still; his gaze tightening once again. The Hollow stood up and faced the two with a look of rage. It charged towards them, its one good arm raised high.

"Tatsuki…" Saito mumbled, trying to pull himself up. "Why aren't you…?" His vision was slowly coming back into focus, after being unconscious for a short time. His eyes fell upon his granddaughter seemingly helpless against the out of focus behemoth charging her.

"GET BACK!"

**Someone else? **He thought. There shouldn't be anyone else around here. As his eyes came back into focus, he saw to his surprise, the boy from before; standing between the charging Hollow and Tatsuki. He had obviously seen better days, the burns and bruises from their fight were still prevalent. "What is he…?"

"I said…" Ichigo said. His voice seemed to change, sounding warped and twisted. He took a step forward, seemingly walking into the Hollow's looming punch. As the blow came down however, Ichigo seemed to disappear. To the untrained eye it may have seemed that the boy disappeared into midair, but others could see it quite clearly.

**The step… **Tatsuki thought, seeing the technique she had been trying to teach Ichigo all day, put into practice. By moving towards his opponent, he took away its ability to punch at him mid-swing, and in one quick movement, ended up behind it; leaving the dumb brute extremely confused.

"…_**GET BACK!" **_Ichigo cocked back his arm and swung with all the force he could muster, directly into the Hollows exposed ribcage, and sending it flying across the street both into and through the first building it came into contact with. "_**Don't you..don't you ever… **_mess with my friends…" Ichigo half said, half mumbled. He took a few shaky steps forward, but soon collapsed; too tired to continue.

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki exclaimed, seeing him fall to the ground.

"Don't worry about him." Tatsuki looked up to see her grandfather limping his way towards the two of them. "I have a feeling someone like him will be fine." The girl teared up and ran to her grandfather, embracing him. "Hey, I'm fine, something like that can't stop good ol' grandpa." After he had sufficiently calmed her down, his attention turned towards the now passed out boy on the ground, after what he had just seen he was unsure what to think of the boy. Sure he had powers of a Hollow, but he had also protected his granddaughter when he had been unable to do so. Perhaps he wasn't the homicidal monster he had thought, maybe…

A shriek once again filled the air as the fallen rubble of the just recently demolished house began to move, revealing the ape-like hollow once again. **He never destroyed the mask… **Saito realized, seeing that the white mask on the creature was still untouched. The only way to kill a hollow was to destroy the mask, and both of them had failed to do so. It turned to them and roared, it was still good to fight. "Tatsuki get behind me." He said, shoving the girl behind him. The Hollow took one step forward before stopping in its tracks. A thin diagonal line appeared across its mask. One side began to slide. **Cut in half?** The mask slid in two, and the Hollow began to quietly disintegrate. **Who?** He got his answer seconds later. A figure walked through the disintegrating Hollow towards them. It was a young woman, clad in a black Shihakusho with shoulder length black hair and violet eyes. **A Shinigami…**

The young woman gazed at the two with mild interest. "You, priest, what happened here."

"I…I was dealing with this Hollow when my granddaughter showed up." Saito explained. Being a Shinto Priest and having fought many battles with Hollows before, he had some experience with them. He knew he was better off giving a quick and simple answer.

The shinigami raised an eyebrow. "I find it hard to believe that someone like you would have some much trouble with a Hollow this weak." She stated. "I detected another Hollow in this area as well, did you see it?"

**What should I do? **Saito thought. He could give this boy over to her now and he would definitely be dealt with, but after what he had just seen…

"Well, have you?" the shinigami asked, getting irritated with the old man.

"Yes, yes I did."

"Which way did it go?"

"You mean you can't sense it?" Saito asked.

"Unfortunately not." The female shinigami replied, obviously annoyed. "It was right around here until just a little while ago and then it vanished."

"I saw it moving off in that direction." Saito said, pointing into the distance. "For some reason, it just left its buddy here with us."

The Shinigami stared Saito in the eye, obviously still suspicious of the old man. "And what of the boy over there." She added after some time.

"He is a friend of my daughters." Saito replied quickly. "I'm afraid everything was too much for him…" The Shinigami squinted her eyes at the boy, seeming to be lost in thought. After a few seconds she shook her head and began to walk away in the direction Saito indicated. With a great leap, she vanished into the night. **Well I think I handled that rather well… **Saito thought with a sigh. He took a seat on the ground, Tatsuki following suit.

"Grandpa, what is all this." Tatsuki asked. "Those things, that woman..." she looked over to see the still unconscious boy. "…Ichigo."

Saito sighed. He hoped this day would never come, but here it was staring him in the face. His granddaughter could see spirits, so he would have to tell her what to expect. "Well, it seems that there is a lot that I have to tell you; but first I think we should try to get home and get some rest." He stood up with some difficulty. "Your mother must be worried sick." He began to walk off, but Tatsuki didn't immediately follow.

"What about Ichigo?"

The old priest turned to look at the unconscious hybrid once again. "I guess he's coming with us." **I owe him that much at least…**

_**AN: Well that's the next chapter. I hope it was worth the wait. One question I'll probably get on this chapter is why the Hollow seemed so strong. Well, you have to remember that while Ichigo has Hollow Power at the moment he is still very young and inexperienced; and as for Saito, he is a really old man who blew most of his power into one badass attack. Ichigo seemed to be fine after a little while though, wonder why that was?**_

_**As for the Pairings, well it's early and as such, nothing has really jumped out in front atm. But, here are some of the things you guys have been suggesting as far as the Harem goes.**_

_**Tatsuki, Orihime, Rukia, Nek, Harribel & Fraccion, Rirukia, Soi-fon, Yoruichi, Hiyori, Isane, Rangiku, etc.**_

_**Once things get going I may start tallying an official poll. But once again, if you have any ideas/suggestions feel free to voice them, I appreciate feedback.**_


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